Chicago, May 30, 2009 - A lonely candle burns in memory of Lorenzo Midguel, who was shot to death early Saturday morning. (See "Murder In Uptown, Joker's Wild.") It is alleged that he was playing poker with his nephew and at least one other man in the back room of Anadeisy Grocery Store, at 4757 N. Sheridan Road in Uptown. Midguel opened the store about year ago. The candle was placed in the doorway by family members on Saturday evening.
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
Yet ANOTHER Illinois Democrat in a scandal. The hits just keep on coming, folks, in the Land of Stinkin'. CBS2 Chicago has this:
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-4th) actively fronted for now-indicted real estate developer Calvin Boender, and the relationship led to a personal loan and at least one real estate deal for Gutierrez, sources tell CBS 2. Gutierrez allegedly squired Boender around City Hall and introduced him to aldermen. Those meetings led to discussions about potential development deals in various Chicago wards.
Gutierrez, man of the people, all tight with the real estate developers. Hmmm. CBS2 goes on:
But the revelation that Carothers worked for a year with the FBI secretly recording conversations means the investigation may involve many more. Among insiders said to be worried is Gutierrez. Full Story at CBS2, with video...
It's getting difficult to keep up with all the Democrat scandals in Illinois. About the only winners are the lawyers. Marathon Pundit has a thought about that:
Sen. Roland Burris (D-Blagojevich) isn't the only member of Illinois' Washington delegation feeling nervous. Congressman Luis Gutierrez will probably be thumbing through the "Lawyers" listings in the Yellow Pages this weekend.
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
UPDATE, 5:30 P.M., May 30 - The body of slain store owner Lorenzo Midguel was NOT found in the alley, as erroneously reported on another blog. Additionally, it seems that Mr. Midgquel's nephew was allegedly a player in the deadly poker game. (More updated info below, in red).
May 30, 2009 - Chicago - An early morning game of cards in the back room of Anadeisy Grocery Store probably led to the fatal shooting of one of the players.
The store is located at 4757 N. Sheridan Road (at W. Lawrence). The body of store owner Lorenzo Midguel was found between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. He was killed inside of the little convenience store that he opened in 2008. Anadeisy was first issued a limited business license on May 16, 2008.
A knowledgable source tells Chicago News Bench that police are still looking for a suspect, who is thought to have been injured in the incident, and are looking for his Ford Explorer. CNB is told that police know the license plate of the vehicle.
According to a report at Lake Effect News today, "Bashar Hashish, the manager of the S&L Pantry next door to grocery store, said the landlord called him at 6:30 to tell him of the shooting."
UPDATE, 5:30 p.m. - An erroneous report at Uptown Update this morning said, "The victim's body is apparently in the alley between Peoples Church and S&L Pantry on Lawrence, just east of Sheridan; the crime scene is taped off and the body is going to be removed by a paddy wagon." However, when Chicago News Bench visited the scene at 11:45 a.m. and again at 2:45 p.m., there was absolutely no blood to be seen in the alley, nor any indication that the alley had been hosed down. The only blood visible outside of the store were the footprints seen in the photos we have here. Chicago News Bench confirmed this with Bashar Hashish of S&L Pantry next door by phone at 5:25 p.m. He told CNB that Lorenzo Midguel's nephew was allegedly in the poker game. Mr. Hashish also told Chicago News Bench that Anadeisy's manager James found Lorenzo Midguel's body in the back room, not in the alley as reported by Uptown Update.
At 11:45 this morning, the wife and son of the victim were still standing in front of the store, along with family and friends there to lend emotional support. (Lake Effect News has more photos.)
I walked around to the back of the store, through the alley and a parking lot, and watched a man mopping the floor of the back room. That's where a poker game was allegedly happening when Lorenzeo Midguel was killed.
I saw a single playing card lying face down at 11:45 a.m., just outside of the rear door. I thought nothing of it then, but later heard about the possible card game.
When I returned at 2:45 p.m., the card had been swept up and was gone. I did, however, spot several bloody footprints walking away from the back door (see photos here).
It's interesting that 23rd District police did not pick up that playing card as possible evidence when they investigated the scene early this morning. Police apparently suspected that a poker game may have led to Midguel's death.
“I heard them talking to the family,” Hashish told Lake Effect News. “They were asking them why [the victim] was drinking beer at 5 a.m. and playing poker."
Another reliable source tells CNB that Mr. Hashish has told other people that a second person was injured in the alleged poker game, and it may have been the shooter. I emphasize that this is not confirmed.
Lake Effect News also reports that Hashish said "police asked the family if [the victim] was running a poker game. I heard the police say there was money all over the floor. It was bad poker.”
That seems odd, since police seem to have strong suspicions about a poker game, yet failed to pick up all possible evidence: The playing card that I saw at 11:45 a.m. There seems to be a pattern of careless attention to crime scene evidence in Chicago's 23rd Police District. See "Uptown Gang Shooting, Police Confusion, Panic (Corrected)"
RELATED:
Candlelight For Murdered Store Owner - May 31, 2009)
Uptown Update: Anadeisy - Welcome To The Neighborhood - 2008
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
The San Diego official asked the couple: “Do you have a regular meeting in your home?”; “Do you say amen?”; “Do you pray?”; “Do you say praise the Lord?” When Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary replied “yes” to these questions, the official told them their meeting was violating county regulations.
That meeting was the Jones home. Once a week they have about 15 people over for dinner, prayer and religious discussion. The only apparent reason for this incredible violation of constitutionally protected activity is religious persecution. According to christian.org.uk, Pastor Jones says his neighbors are supportive, and that the authorities’ letters consistently cited “religious assembly” rather than parking or traffic issues.
David Broyles is the attorney representing Pastor and Mrs. Jones in all of this. He wondered, “Is [San Diego] county really going to treat a religious gathering any differently than a boyscout troupe or a tupperware party?” (More from christian.org.uk....)
Apparently so. Discrimination law expert Neil Addison points out that “It is no coincidence that the first thing any totalitarian state does is to regulate and control association, organisations and churches." This is not an isolated case. Indeed, Christian persecution is on the rise all over the world. While it's far worse in other countries, intolerance of relgious people is increasing in the U.S., whether Muslim, Jewish, Christian or any other that believes in God.
I wonder if San Diego officials would treat a weekly swingers' orgy of a dozen people in somebody's home this way? Probably not, even if the phrase "Oh God, oh God, oh God!" is repeated during the sessions.
Leave a Comment Here... Oh boy! Cool merchandise!
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed, and we're also on Twitter
Governor Pat Quinn. New governor, same old backroom party-first politics. Will voters vote for a Democrat in the next election for governor? Or will they wake up before then?
Senate OK of contribution limits hit by critics (Zzzzzz...)
Illinois lawmakers debate state's ethics rules (Zzzzzz...)
Quinn Tweaks Tax Plan To Court Votes (Zzzzzz...)
My campaign's pitch for funds a mistake: Quinn (Zzzzzz...)
Gov. Pat Quinn paints 'doomsday' budget picture (Zzzzzz...)
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
Some stories just need to be dusted off now and then. Remember David Fagus? He's the COO of a rat-filled ship called 
Cermak Health Services, which is part of the scandal-ridden Cook County Jail system.
One of those scandals involved "unsanitary conditions" in the Cook County Jail system, which federal investigators were looking into last year. None of the local media have followed up on the story. Sanitation in the jails are partly the responsibility of Cermak Health Services of Cook County.
Cermak provides health services to Cook County Jail facilities, but too often at a Third World level of quality. Cermak's 
COO, David Fagus is friend and political co-plotter of 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore; he's also the 49th Ward Democrat Committeeman. Fagus is a well-entrenched Chicago Machine politician who eagerly endorsed Todd Stroger, Rod Blagojevich and fellow Chicago Machine politician Barack Obama.
Shame on Chicago-area media outlets for having virtually nothing about this monster in their archives.
Cook County Sheriff Blames Fagus for Mess
Fagus, Master of the Black Hole
Video: Chicago Scumbags Rally for Obama
CTA Tattler Publisher Slanders Citizen Journalists
David Fagus: Shadow Man
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
"Sarah" lives in Rogers Park, and recently said I was "silly" for my rants about the higher-than-it-should-be crime in that Chicago neighborhood.
Read the flyer from CAPS Beat 2431 here (click to enlarge it). What Sarah does not seem to realize is that if I am silly for being concerned about shootings, armed robbery, assaults, and heavy drug trafficking on Morse Avenue and Howard Street, then so are many Rogers Park residents - including the folks who run and participate in all the 24th District CAPS groups. Here's what Sarah wrote on May 23:
"i [sic] don't have a dog and have never worried about my safety after dark in rogers [sic] park [sic] and take public transportation everywhere. I have run into you in the park right by my house after dark and you never were walking a dog either and were usually alone. as [sic] in any nieghborhood in any city, you always want to be aware of your surroundings. i [sic] don't know where your neighborhood angst has come from but it is just silly."
See, Sarah, here's the deal. The flyer shown here is a typical one for Beat 2431, in which I lived for 10 years. It's typical of the other CAPS groups, too. Every other month, their flyers say something like "Make Morse Safer" or "Help Reduce Crime" or "Tell Us About Trouble Spots." Sarah, if Morse was already safe, it would not need to be made "safer." If there was no crime in the hood, there would be no need to reduce it. If there were no trouble spots, there would be no need to point them out to the police. The police encourage the CAPS meetings, at which crime in Rogers Park is discussed. Now, Sarah, are the police and the CAPS facilitators and the concerned citizens who attend the CAPS meetings all "silly?"
Do you wonder where their "neighborhood angst" comes from, Sarah? I'll tell you, Sarah. It comes from an awareness of the shit that's going down around them everyday in Rogers Park and the 49th Ward, with makes up nearly half of the 24th District, which is the only Level Two district in Area Three. In short, Sarah, we who do not have our heads in the sand are the ones who are concerned about crime. Folks who go to work outside of the hood, come back to their newly acquired, now-hard-to-sell condos, then go straight to a swanky nightclub only to stagger back to their newly acquired, now-hard-to-sell condos, can easily miss the shitstorm of criminal activity around them. They can easily miss it - or willfully ignore it because they are afraid to see it. As for walking in the park after dark, Sarah, how often do you do it alone after 1:00 a.m., far away from your recently acquired beachfront condo?
RELATED:
The Real Straight Dope - Rogers Park More Dangerous Than Admitted
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
On Friday, May 29 I will interview Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica (R-16), and YOUR input is invited!
I have a set of questions, but it occurred to me that many of you probably also have questions that you would ask him if you could. Well, you can...
Send your question to me NOW in care of the Chicago News Bench Guestbook. Click here to send my your question, but do it tonight. If I don't have your question by 7:00 a.m. on Friday, May 29 I might not see it until after the interview.
The exclusive interview will be videotaped, so watch for it next week.
Check out Tony Peraica's website, Reform Cook County
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
Strange as it may seem, another politician in Illinois has been indicted for corruption.
This one, yet another Democrat, is Alderman Isaac "Ike" Carothers, 29th Ward. He is accused of funny business with the developer that was involved with the Galewood-Armitage Industrial TIF. More from Twitter...
ChiNewsBench Indictment papers, Chicago Alderman Isaac Carothers http://tinyurl.com/n7aqoq
ChiNewsBench Chicago Ald. Carothers indicted by feds http://tinyurl.com/carothers for Galewood TIF activity http://tinyurl.com/ktvphq
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
With trillions of dollars in debt piling up under the "guidance" of the Obama Regime and its economic "advisors," the United States comes closer every minute to complete economic meltdown. The U.S. debt is larger now than ever, and we have not yet begun to see the unavoidable effects of the coming catastrophe it will bring. It is one of the great ironies of history that the Obama "stimulus" is actually doing just the opposite. The same people who screamed about the obscene spending on the Iraq War are now gleefully spending far, far more than all of the Iraq War spending totalled up. The irony is rich, if less than enjoyable.
The U.S. Congress has become like an amphetamine addict; the initial dose makes him feel better, more energetic and more able to carry on. But that dose slow him down when the drug wears off and the euphoria loses its glow. Then he's in big trouble. Sooner or later, the Obama stimulus dose will wear off, and we will be in a world of pain. Like that addict, there is no escape from the inevitable downer. Unlike that addict, the Congress seems eager to overdose.
Robert Romano wrote a brilliant summary of the bad situation we've allowed our politicians to get us into. Romano is the Senior Editor of ALG News Bureau and wrote this on GetLiberty.org on May 28:
Last week, Moody’s downgraded Japan’s sovereign credit rating from AAA to AA2. The UK suffered a similar fate from Standard & Poor’s as the medium-term outlook on her Majesty’s debt was lowered from “stable” to “negative.” (Note: "Sovereign debt" is a debt instrument that is guaranteed by a government.)
That's worrisome enough. Japan and the United Kingdom are/were strong trading partners of the United States. They are both economic engines that help drive the world economy. Neither of them is nearly as big as the U.S., however, and the U.S. is about to lose its AAA rating too.
Amid the ensuing economic and political fallout, now all eyes are turning to the largest sovereign debt in the world. Ever. It is held by the United States government. And, it is a ticking time bomb. With every vote congressmen make to plunge the nation deeper into debt—now more than $11.3 trillion (and growing)—the clock draws closer to zero. Even Barack Obama has to admit that it is “unsustainable,” although in the same breath he proposes another trillion dollar bailout or a vast expansion of the government health care monstrosity.
DeRoy Murdoch of the Scripps Howard News Service, offers his take on the U.S. federal spending orgy and it's alleged attempt to "stimulate" the economy. He wrote this on May 28:
While Obama is refreshingly realistic, he resembles a man who strolls into a bar, sees that his wallet is empty, and then slaps a round of drinks for everyone onto his wheezing credit card.
Rather than use America's rapidly deteriorating public finances to restore fiscal discipline after G.W Bush's deplorable spend-o-rama, Obama is digging America into a deeper hole -- not with a shovel, but with a backhoe. If he continues, the ensuing canyon walls will collapse and crush us. Look how spectacularly Washington squanders your money:... (More at Scripps Howard...)
"Stimulus?" I think not. But is it panic time yet? I think not, not quite yet. Today we see headlines that seem reassuring. One, for example, is "US government debt to keep top rating, Moody's says." That's nice, but it doesn't take into account the severe crisis that other nations are going through. Remember that the Great Depression in the United States dragged the rest of the world down. This time around, it may be the other way around. Like that addict I alluded to earlier, we may be basking in the warm glow of a temporary dose-induced high. But all around us, fellow addicts are jittery, and jittery addicts desperate for that next high can be very dangerous.
RELATED:
Stocks, Treasuries Tumble - msnbc.com
Murdock: America is broke - Scripps News
Europe Battles a Deep Recession - eGov monitor
Tax Revenue Plunges as Obama Deficit Soars - NewsMax.com
Euro falls despite positive eurozone data -AFP
Drop Deepens On Wall Street - Forbes
US Credit Rating Not Under Immediate Threat - Wall Street Journal
Tumbling towards a sovereign debt crisis? - Edmund Conway - The Telegraph UK
Choking on Debt in the Unfolding Anglo-Saxon Bond Crisis - Daily Reckoning
World stocks, bonds fall on sovereign debt fears - Reuters
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
.jpg)
ALG Editor’s Note: William Warren’s award-winning cartoons published at GetLiberty.org are a free service of ALG News Bureau. They may be reused and redistributed free of charge.
Leave a Comment Here...
See our cool merchandise...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Hey! ChiNewsBench is on Twitter
Creator of Lake Effect News and legendary Chicago journalist Lorraine Swanson prowls her beat on W. Devon Avenue in West Ridge.
I took this photo on May 17, 2009.
Click images to enlarge.
Leave a Comment...
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
The woman in the photo has size-KKK boobs. No, this is not a story about breasts, but the opportunity to actually tie this picture into something was irresistible. "KKK," of course, is her breast size, not her political affiliation. I doubt that she has a political affiliation, frankly, but I digress.
"KKK" can also mean racist. The KKK is exclusively white, but the bigger club of racists includes people of all races, and two charter members are First Boob Barack Obama and the woman he wants to be our next Supreme Court justice, Judge Sonia "The Latina" Sotomayer.
Sotomayer is a racist, and that is undeniable no matter how you spin it. I explained it here clearly yesterday. Today, Newt Gingrich finally caught up to Chicago News Bench (and thousands of other bloggers) by writing that Obama's pick for the US Supreme Court is a racist.
On March 26, I wrote this:
“I would hope that a wise White man with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina female who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Oh, wait a minute, sorry. Sotomayer didn't make that racist statement. She made this racist statement:“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life."
On March 27, Newt wrote this on his blog:
Imagine a judicial nominee said "my experience as a white man makes me better than a latina woman" Wouldn't they have to withdraw? New racism is no better than old racism.
On March 26, I wrote this:
Let a conservative make a racist statment and the Left jumps all over them. I don't condone racist statements, but the Left's double standing can be breathtaking.
On March 27, Newt wrote this:
A white man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw.
Not only did I say it before Newt did, my syntax is better than his. Newt failed to feature a photo of a large breasted woman, or to have a nifty photo of a KKK dude at a cross burning as did my good friends at iOwnTheWorld.com. They beat Newt yesterday, too, with this:
Seriously, if a republican president nominated a candidate who said, “I would hope that a wise white man with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a latina female who hasn’t lived that life,” the nominee would be treated to a high tech lynching.
Yup. Sho' nuff true.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
"Churches Ad Hoc: A Divine Comedy" is the title of a book of photography by new friend Herman Krieger. The photos capture the comical visual aspects of some churches, but I get no sense of disrespect here.
A reviewer for the New York Times, Rebecca Fairley Raney, wrote that the "sometimes irreverent photo essay on churches draws a variety of responses. Christians see devotion. Atheists see satire. Photographers see artistry."
I see - and like - all three aspects. I first became aware of Herman Krieger's photography, and interesting life, when he left a comment here on our Guestbook. He wrote a very simple note:
Web site of possible interest: Photo essays in black and white: www.efn.org/~hkrieger Some of the photos were made in Chicago.
He wasn't trying to sell anything. He just wants to share his stunning photography with the world. He did not mention his book. I wrote to him and asked if his photography was for sale. His quick response:
The book is still available thru Amazon.com. My web site is not commercial. I don't offer photos for sale. Sometimes at an exhibition, a photo may carry a price, but generally I don't sell the photos. When I have extra copies, I give them away. When I worked in photography, I rarely made photos for myself. The were always made for a customer or my employer. If I print a photo for money, I feel I am working for the buyer, and that takes the fun out of it. The only biography available is the bio on my web site. Herman
A true artist, Krieger does it for the love of his art. So I take it upon myself to hawk his book, available at Amazon.com. At the risk of contradicting myself, I'll also let you know that his photo essay "Churches Ad Hoc: A Divine Comedy" can be seen for free on his web site at this link. Still, I would encourage you to buy his book. It would make a stunning gift or addition to your bookshelf.
Krieger's web site is beautiful. While you're there, be sure to check out his amazing biography.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
By now, you've probably had a good chuckle over the hysteria about the predicted swine flu "pandemic." Hands gripping both sides of their heads, mouths open wide in a scream of alarm, health officials an government spokespersons worldwide warned that we're all gonna die. The Great Swine Flu Scare of 2009 had its opening night, so to speak, and it failed at the box office. No pandemic, no sign of one. Remember the avian flu ("bird" flu) scare that started several years ago? That one didn't fly either.
Then there's the "crisis" of Global Warming. The difference between global warming and the current swine flu: The swine flu, although not the pandemic it was advertised as, actually existed and not merely theoretical. Global warming, on the other hand, is still theoretical. The theory behind it is flawed and growing more discredited every day.
An editorial in Investors Business Daily (IBD), on May 26, skewers the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, which is yet another attempt by alarmists to scare us into compliance and further their agendas of gaining increased power and bigger budgets to control. Here's an excerpt from IBD (emphasis added):
The public is told that climate change legislation is urgently needed to save the planet. But the evidence that the global warming scare is all about power and politics, not the environment, keeps piling up. The Waxman-Markey climate change bill that would establish a regime to limit carbon dioxide emissions through a cap-and-trade system was passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week.
IBD goes on to ask this: If global warming were a grave threat, wouldn't getting a CO2 emissions restriction law passed and signed take precedence over lawmakers' objections on behalf of their constituents? The fact that.... so many Democrats would rather have no bill than to let it become law without input from the Agriculture Committee exposes the global warming scare: It's not about the environment — it's about power and politics.
Truth can be so inconvenient when trying to get power, but politics can often obscure the truth. Hundreds of millions of people have had the wool pulled over their eyes regarding global warming, but the wool shows signs of fraying. If you're looking for scientific discussion about this, with real scientists who dispute the Al Gore-style propaganda, there are two essential global warming videos that must be seen.
Global warming theory has become so discredited that many who claimed it was real have actually stopped using the term. Now, they call it "climate change," a safe generic term that allows them wiggle room in the face of reality. That reality is this: The world has not warmed over the past ten years as predicted. By my recollection, Al Gore predicted a few years ago that Miami would be under water by 2011, and that doesn't seem imminent. Now, many of the same scientists who pushed the global "warming" nonsense are actually saying that we're undergoing global "cooling." In fact, there are now 32000 scientists who do not agree with the global warming “consensus," and that number keeps growing. Along with Weather Channel founder John Coleman, over 30,000 scientists are trying to sue Al Gore for fraud.
It's all a tacit admission by the "global warming" crowd that it's nothing more than fraud, a hoax perpetrated for political purposes. It's simple, really. Convince enough people that there is a crisis (any crisis), and they're more willing to let the government take more money to "solve" the crisis, and to impose more government rules and control over just about anything to "save" us.
RELATED:
Waxman-Markey Bill Is Most Anti-Consumer Legislation Ever ...
DailyTech - Temperature Monitors Report Widescale Global Cooling
The Global Warming Myth? - ABC News
Power Line - Dispelling the Global Warming Myth
Video: The Great Global Warming Swindle
Video: CBC - Global Warming Doomsday Called Off
Video: Glenn Beck Interviews John Coleman, Founder of Weather Channel
Video: Glenn Beck on Global Warming Bullies
Video: See Al Gore's Hypocrisy!
Related items from Chicago News Bench:
Hypocritical Energy Efficiency Workshop...
Environmental McCarthyism
NASA: Global Warming is "Natural"
Methane Madness and the Idiocy of Experts
A Few Experts Comment on Inconvenient Truth
The Earth Is Flat
Leave a Comment...
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Damn. Allman Brothers, "Midnight Rider" video, live, at the Beacon Theatre, 2003. Why am I posting this? Cuz I love it so, and it's now 11:55 p.m., and I used to have my own commercial radio rock show from midnight to six, six night a damned week (on WMAD), and I'm feeling nostalgic. Album oriented rock. Alone in a dim studio, in the middle of a corn field, just me and two walls full of vinyl. Pizza delivery just past midnight. Pop a beer. Early 1980s. Damn.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Must watch this! North Korean television report about the recent underground nukular (yes, "nukular," I said) test by the defiant bastard commies. With subtitles:
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Russian immigrant Igor Marxomarxovich (photo) claims to have Barack Obama's real birth certificate.
Igor alerted Chicago News Bench to this news by leaving a in our Guestbook today.
Igor is thrilled to be in the U.S. and participating in American democracy. "I here only this time but have already vote. I vote five times already in last election with the help of new friends at ACORN. They tell me OK I become citizen later. Never in my country can I do this. They give me new name each time I vote. Give me American cigarette to smoke in line. Sometimes even find Igor place at front of line. Such freedom. My uncle die three year ago. With help of ACORN he still able to vote (but not get American cigarette)."
On a more serious note, see "Hiding Obama's Birth Certificate with H.R. 1507."
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
“I would hope that a wise White man with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina female who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Oh, wait a minute, sorry. Sotomayer didn't make that racist statement. She made this racist statement:
“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
She made that blatantly racist remark at the annual Judge Mario G. Olmos Law and Cultural Diversity Lecture at the University of California, Berkeley in 2001, as reported by the New York Times.
Sotomayer is the radical leftist judge that radical leftist Barack Obama intends to nominate to be on the U.S. Supreme Court. Obama is currently pretending to be the legal President of the United States (until his hidden Kenyan birth certificate turns up).
Obama calls the racist Sotomayer "inspiring." That's nice, isn't it?
In 2005, Sotomayer came off sounding like a complete fool when she essentially admitted to believing that appeals courts should take advocacy roles and make law. (Courts are not supposed to make law; they are supposed to enforce laws that are made by legislative bodies.) Watch the video on YouTube.
The Sotomayer confirmation hearings will be wicked. Republicans will oppose it enthusiastically. Count on it. Also count on a number of Democrats shying away from defending such an openly bigoted person. A few, that is. Unfortunately, too many of the Democrat party leaders have been compromised by the far Left - or are part and parcel of it. Sadly, the party that once stood for equality now has a titular head who calls a racist like Sotomayer "inspiring."
This is a symptom of the Left's hypocrisy on racism. You see, if a liberal or a Democrat makes a racist statement, it's not really racist. Let a conservative make a racist statment and the Left jumps all over them. I don't condone racist statements, but the Left's double standing can be breathtaking. It's not unique to the American Left, either. In Britain, for example, Leftists call the British National Party (BNP) "racist." BNP responds this way:
Opponents point to the fact that the BNP has an all-white membership, and that we address issues concerning white people. If the BNP is racist for holding this position, then, we would suggest, all of the following organisations - some of them state funded - are also “racist” because they too address themselves exclusively to the issues and concerns of their respective communities:
BNP goes on to list 32 organizations in Britain that are clearly race based and set up for one ethnic or racial group, such as "Operation Black Vote." BNP then asks the question: "Have you noticed how the media NEVER calls any of these organisations “racist” even though they are openly organised along ethnic lines and stand for the rights of their respective communities? It seems as if every group has the right to have an organisation speaking up for its rights - EXCEPT the indigenous British people." (Source)
Back to the U.S., where there is a group called the Congressional Black Caucus. Can you imagine the cries of "racism!" if some U.S. Representatives formed a "Congressional White Caucus?" Of course you can, yet the mainstream media, liberals and Democrats kiss the CBC's collective booty. It's a double standard, and that's another way of saying hypocrisy. So, is the Congressional Black Caucus really racist, just because it's oriented toward Black Americans? No, not really, and I'll quote BNP again:
In reality, none of these organisations are “racist” — each and every community has the inalienable right to look after its own interests.
There you go. The right to associate with whom you wish, which is supported by all conservatives. Not the Left, however, who would scream bloody murder if some enterprising publisher started a magazine called "White Hair." Think about it.
RELATED:
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More - Whoa, cool!
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Yet another step toward an opaque administration from the Obama Regime. "A bill [HR 1507] approved by the House of Representatives and referred to the Senate would prohibit federal employees of the executive branch from being compelled to release any document unless a court makes a specified determination by a preponderance of evidence – legislation at least one group suspects is designed to protect Barack Obama's elusive birth certificate from release." So writes Larry Walker, Jr. in his blog post "The Obama Birth Certificate Protection Act?" this week.
Uhm, didn't candidate Obama repeatedly promise to be open about legislation and, well, everything else? He sure did. Lies, they were, lies and repeated lies.
RELATED:
Obama Birth Certificate Update
Is This the Real Obama Birth Certificate?
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." - Full Text of the Tenth Amendment, U.S. Constitution
"While the mainstream news media are hyping President Barack Obama and the dismal economic downturn in the United States, more and more states are declaring -- or have already declared -- sovereignty," writes Jim Kouri, CPP. This has been going on for some time now, as I've written about here (see "States Resisting Obama's Tyranny" from April 21, 2009).
Kouri's point is important: The mainstream media has virtually ignored this story, even though it should be front and center in every newspaper and on every news broadcast. A few of the states that have declared sovereignty are New Hampshire, Montana, Oklahoma, Washington, Missouri and Georgia. They've all passed legislation that essentially tells the U.S. Government to back off and leave them alone, to stop messing where they shouldn't be messing. Kouri does a good job of detailing the fine points of those states' efforts to keep Uncle Sam out of their playpens.
FoxNews reports today (May 26) that at least 35 states have introduced legislation in 2009 to assert their home authority under the Tenth Amendment to regulate things that are not specifically delegated to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution.
"This has been boiling for years, and it's finally come to a head," said Utah State Rep. Carl Wimmer. "With TARP and No Child Left Behind, these things that continue to give the federal government more authority, our rights as states and individuals are being turned on their head." More at FoxNews...
The states' soveriegnty moves are reminiscent of what is currently happening here, in Cook County, Illinois. Because of extremely high local tax rates and other matters of interference by the county, a number of Chicago suburbs are talking secession. It's a huge issue in some municipalities, which are losing business to nearby communities outside of Cook County where taxes are significantly lower. The Daily Herald newspaper published a letter to the editor on May 16, in which the writer opined that "rolling back the Cook County sales tax increase would be a fine first step. What's really needed, however, is secession of the suburbs from Cook County."
Kouri is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). He goes on to note that the sovereignty trend is slow so far, but could be the first baby steps toward a nationwide trend in the making:
"Not only does the US Constitution provide for the sovereignty, the US Supreme Court also ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states.
"So far, only a few states have declared sovereignty, but several states are considering legislation to do so. Some legislation addresses all aspects of states’ rights, while other legislation addresses certain actions such as abortion control and gun owners’ rights."
Kouri's full article is shocking. When you read it, you will also wonder why the mainstream media have ignored the subject. You'll also wonder how the hell we've allowed the federal government to usurp so many of our rights and to interfer in areas that they may not even have the constitutional authority to do.
RELATED:
Movement Aims to Give Power Back to the States - FOXNews
Oklahoma Senate Affirms Sovereignty - r3publican.wordpress.com
Texas Governor's Secession Talk Stirs Furor - New York Times
Eleven States Declare Sovereignty Over Obama’s Action - Human Events
Three Townships Voting On Secession From Cook County - Huffington Post
Palatine wants to secede from Cook County - Marathon Pundit
To secede or not to secede? - Reform Cook County
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
brooksbayne wrote, "u might be a liberal if u have the stomach for killing the unborn, then pretend to be bothered by waterboarding" at 9:17 p.m. CDT.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
This is our exclusive video. On Saturday, May 23, Chicago cops stopped a suspected stolen car in the Uptown neighborhood on the city's north side (see full story here). Chicago News Bench was on the scene, recording this immediately after the car was stopped by W. Wilson and N. Sheridan.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Say what you will about Barack Obama, the guy has no class. He's a Chicago politician through and through, and he just can't help following the Pay To Play Rule Book. One of the rules in that book: Reward your big contributors in a way commensurate with the amount of money they raise for you. That's what Obama has done with his recent appointment of Chicago money man Lou "The Vacuum Cleaner" Susman. He was a major money bundler for Obama (surprise!). Friend Carol Felsenthal has a great column in the Huffington Post about this pay-to-play ambassador to our friends across the pond:
Last March I posted here that Obama's probable pick for the most prestigious of ambassadorships--the Court of St. Jame's- was going to Chicagoan and retired investment banker Louis B. Susman. Susman, 71, is so talented at raising money for Democrats--he was John Kerry's national finance chairman and an early money man for Obama--that he was nicknamed "the Vacuum Cleaner" or "the Hoover" during the Kerry campaign, and "the Big Bundler" during the Obama campaign. Full Post by Felsenthal...
Say, comrade, is blatant cronyism more of that "change" thing you voted for?
RELATED:
Special Relationship Fretting: Ambassadorial Edition
Obama crony, king-maker Lou Susman goes to London « RBO
Obama's Wall Street Buddies - Deal Journal - WSJ
What Obama's Asian Ambassador Picks Reveal
Obama's Crony Diplomacy
Embassy Row
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Sunday, May 24, 2009, 10:30 p.m. CDT - Turn on your scanners, kidz! It's a crazy night in Uptown Chicago (23rd Police District). Police chases, reports of gunshots, robbing and gangstaz tossing guns outa car windows. SEE UPDATE from Lake Effect News, 10:32 p.m.
Happy Memorial Day, tuh alla y'all.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN: VOTE BNP ON JUNE 4TH" is a text message that millions of British voters are being urged to text to each other in a national grassroots effort to force a general election. The British National Party is touting the text messages as a way to get the word out. Why? To get rid of the buffoon Gordon Brown, of course, arguably the worst Prime Minister that the United Kingdom has had since God-Knows-When. I want to make it clear that while I am not endorsing the BNP, I do endorse the dumping of Brown. (I'm sure Parliament can squelch any serious weirdness from BNP.)
The message on the BNP web site reads, in part:
Want to get rid of Gordon Brown? Want a general election? Want to make a protest vote the politicians cannot ignore? MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN: VOTE BNP ON JUNE 4TH. Forward this to everyone in your contacts. If we send these texts to enough people they will go viral and could lead to thousands more votes on D-Day 2009. That is what is at stake, so please make the effort!
So foward those texts - and this blog post - to everyone in your contacts. Heal Thyself, Great Britain! Dump Brown! Now, enjoy the lovely video of Daniel Hannan, MEP, below. Mr. Hannan thinks Mr. Brown should go, too.
RELATED (video follows):
Beckett set for comeback as Brown plans purge of tainted ministers
Brown calls Blair in to No 10 for secret talks as crisis mounts
What to look for in June's European parliamentary elections
UK May Lose AAA Rating at S&P as Finances Weaken
UK Labour Party faithful want Brown to quit -poll
Gordon Brown set for election wipeout - Times Online
MPs' expenses: artists and activists join in call for electoral reform
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Illinois State Senator Heather "Caboose" Steans was interviewed by Jeff Berkowitz, "show host and producer, and executive legal recruiter," who "debated" something or other, it was hard to tell ... cuz.... Steans looked like a total cheap tart in that God awful outfit and whore makeup. Did she look in the mirror? Does she know that bangs like hers went out of style, like, thirty years ago? She looks ready for a Metallica concert. Steans, who helped funnel around $200,000 to Rod Blagojevich over the years, is probably able to shop somewhere other than the local Trollop Fashions Boutique. And what's with those big moley bumps on her face? Surely, with all of her family's great wealth, she can afford a dermatologist. As for Berkowitz, he politely contradicts Steans a number of times (perhaps too politely; she gets away with a lot of B.S.). Posted April 23, 2009 on YouTube, this gruelling video is as hard to look away from as a bad car wreck.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
BUSTED IN UNDER A MINUTE
UPDATED: SEE OUR EXCLUSIVE VIDEO
Chicago, May 23, 2009 - Uptown - Excellent work by 23rd District police officers and dispatch. (Click images to enlarge.)
At approximately 9:35 p.m. this evening, Chicago police officers pulled over a suspected stolen black Cadillac in the 4600 block of N. Sheridan Road. The car was reported stolen this morning.
Two men were pulled out of the car, one white and one black. Both men were large and muscular but neither struggled with police.
A small crowd gathered to quietly watch, but one man, half a block away, kept shouting "Leave the black man alone!" He either did not see his white companion or did not care that the arrest was completely non-racist.
The chase started at N. Kenmore and W. Leland, less than a minute before police pulled the car over on Sheridan. The chase lasted for just under three short blocks and ended without incident or injury.
After questioning the men for about ten minutes, police hauled them away for questioning.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
I was drawn to the cemetary today, thinking about my mother who died on May 22, 1993, and my dad, a World War Two veteran. He died a few months later on September 3, 1993. Cancer, both of them. They were cremated and laid to rest in Wisconsin, and I'm in Chicago this weekend.
I've ridden the CTA trains past the beautiful St. Boniface Cemetary in Uptown so many times that it immediately came to mind.
I wondered how many little U.S. flags I might see on veterans' graves. I realized later that I had come too soon on this Saturday. Monday, after all, is Memorial Day, and St. Boniface Cemetary will have a Field Mass and Holy Communion at 10:30 a.m. A sign just inside the gate said that "You Are Codially Invited!" I'm not a Catholic, but I thought it might be nice to attend that ceremony.
I arrived at N. Clark and W. Lawrence, the southwest corner of St. Boniface, and walked through the first open gate.
A groundskeeper, a friendly Hispanic man in his fifties, with limited English, smiled warmly and offered me a little U.S. flag and memorial program.
I smiled back and declined, waved my camera at him, and he understood that I was just an observer.
There were very few people in the cemetary. Living ones, I mean. I counted three couples tending to relatives' graves; placing fresh flowers, tidying up, brushing off a head stone.
One young man was riding his bike through, enjoying the serene park-like setting. I saw a few flags, but did not count them. I would estimate, however, that perhaps one in thirty graves had a flag.
I'll try to return on Monday morning. I'll still be thinking about my parents, and about all the veterans laid to rest here, and everywhere else.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Just another Illinois Democrat, after all, that Pat Quinn, governor successor to Rod Blagojevich. Seems he ain't as clean as his public image has painted him. This, from AP:
Gov. Pat Quinn said Friday a campaign aide made an embarrassing mistake by calling Springfield interest groups to raise political money and denied any intention of demanding contributions in exchange for special access to him.
Big hat tip to Marathon Pundit, who adds his own excellent commentary including this:
Here's some history: Thirteen years ago, none other than then-Congressman Dick Durbin accused Quinn of being a ghost-payroller in the Dan Walker administration. Quinn denies that charge.
The more things "change" in Illinois, the more they stay the same. By the way, Illinois, you ready for the big fat tax hike from Governor Quinn? Happy Memorial Day.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Ah, Memorial Day Weekend. It's here, and you're still looking for something to do. Okay then, here's a quick roundup of Chicago-area events for Memorial Day 2009. We've gathered the best of the lists out there and put them in one handy blog post. You'll likely see a flag at the beach today. Look at and remember the men and women of our armed forces who have given - and continue to give - their lives, bodies and love of country to help you live in a nation that is free. This fun weekend is brought to you by G.I. Jane and Joe. Remember them.
Memorial Day events in the Southland - Southtown Star
Swim The Extra Day Away: Our Top Five Memorial Day Beaches - Jaunted
Area communities announce Memorial Day plans - WCLO
Entertainment Calendar - Northwest Herald
Community Calendar - Wilmette Life
World War II veterans get a day to remember - Chicago Tribune
10 last-minute options for Memorial Day - Chicago Tribune
Ten activities to keep you busy this Memorial Day weekend - Examiner.com
10 things to do this weekend - Crain's Chicago Business
Things to do this weekend: May 22-24 - Time Out Chicago
Memorial Day events set across the county - Waukegan News Sun
Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum latest Muskegon gem - Muskegon Chronicle
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
Today is Day Three for "Lake Effect News," an online news site by veteran journalist Lorraine Swanson. She's been covering neighborhoods on Chicago's north side for 16 years, and most recently was the editor and primary writer of News-Star. In March, Chicago Journal sold off News-Star and Swanson was on her own. She has turned lemons into lemonade by doing what few laid-off journalists have done. Rather than sit around lamenting her fate, or complaining about the tax structure of for-profit, dying newspapers, Swanson has put her personal devotion to local journalism to work. Lake Effect News (LEN)is off to a good start.
LEN was linked to overnight by about 200 other web sites. The first ones to link to LEN, of course, were local blogs such as 24/7 North of Howard Watchers (in Rogers Park) and Uptown Update. Of course, we linked up right away too; I believe that we were the only ones to publish her entire, well-crafted press release. (Whoever wrote that release should be working for major PR firm or ad agency.) Then the local "big boys" got into the act. A glowing report by Mike Miner of The Chicago Reader didn't hurt, and has helped to direct a lot of traffic to Swanson's LEN within it's first two days. You can see a list of who links to Lake Effect News by clicking here.
Swanson and LEN seemed destined for well-deserved success. Chicago's north side neighborhoods are richer for having them.
Leave a Comment on our Guestbook!
CommieBama Hats and More
Chicago News Bench RSS Feed
Follow ChiNewsBench on Twitter
